Southwestern Corn Salad #WeekdaySupper

When the temperature rises, you need a meal that is filling, flavorful, and doesn’t heat up your kitchen. This salad combines healthy veggies, beans, and a spicy dressing — no cooking required!

We’ve been having crazy heat waves in Philadelphia this summer. The most recent one lasted for 8 days! High heat and high humidity means some times, you just CAN’T turn on the stove to get dinner on the table.

Since there’s only so many nights both I and my wallet can handle deli take-out sandwiches, I began to think of no-cook dinners. My mind first went to dinner salads, but most involve adding protein like chicken or steak, which need to be cooked. Oh, sure, there are pre-cooked chicken strips available at grocery stores, but they are really expensive.

Dave suggested adding a protein that didn’t need to be cooked: beans. It never occurred to me, because I don’t really like beans (it’s a texture thing). But I gave them a try in this recipe, and I’m glad I did, because when mixed with the other textures of the crispy lettuce and crunchy tortilla chips, I didn’t notice the beans.

We were both surprised at how filling this salad was, likely thanks to the fiber in the beans. It would taste even better with creamy sliced avocado on top, and I bought one for the salad, but it wasn’t ripe in time. And the best thing about this salad was how easy it was to put together — there’s no cooking involved whatsoever, not even in the microwave!